In May this year,
Japan's industrial
production increased two percent over the previous month, showing a month-on-month rise for the fourth consecutive month.
Japan's industrial output showed a decrease of one percent from May in the previous year, according to the preliminary indices of the Industrial
Production report published by
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
The Japanese iron and steel
production index in the month in question decreased by 0.8 percent year on year, while
Japan's seasonally adjusted iron and steel
production index fell 0.7 percent in May compared to April. Meanwhile, in May Japanese producers' iron and steel shipments rose by 2.3 percent and iron and steel inventories were up by 1.5 percent, both compared to the previous month.
On the other hand, according to the ministry's preliminary Current Survey of
Production report, in May this year
Japan produced 7.2 million mt of
pig iron, up 5.4 percent, 9.6 million mt of
crude steel, up 4.4 percent, and 9.4 million mt of semi-finished steel, up 4.5 percent, all compared to May 2012.
According to the ministry's Survey of
Production Forecast in Manufacturing, Japanese industrial
production shows signs of picking up at a moderate pace.
Production is expected to decrease 2.4 percent in June and to increase 3.3 percent in July, both month on month.